


Rough Turf On The Coast

by Haberdasher



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Based on a Tumblr Post, Cross-Posted on Tumblr, Episode: e186 Quiet (The Magnus Archives), Fog, Inspired By Tumblr, Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist With a Cane, Kissing, Kissing in the Rain, M/M, Mildly Dubious Consent, POV Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist, Pining Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist, Pining Martin Blackwood, Pining Martin Blackwood/Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist, Post-Episode: e186 Quiet (The Magnus Archives), Rain, Reunions, Reunited and It Feels So Good, Spoilers for Episode: e186 Quiet (The Magnus Archives), Worry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-10
Updated: 2020-11-10
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:27:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27481186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Haberdasher/pseuds/Haberdasher
Summary: One possible reunion between Jon and Martin post-186.
Relationships: Martin Blackwood/Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist
Comments: 16
Kudos: 116





	Rough Turf On The Coast

There were a lot of reasons Jon was less than pleased as he made his way slowly but surely through the current domain.

One was that the fear of being forgotten, of suffering and struggling without anyone ever knowing about it, was a fear that Jon himself knew all too well, and he couldn’t shake the feeling that if things had been different, if he had been Watched instead of Watcher, this might well have been where he was sent to suffer.

Another was that he couldn’t see the (actual) victims in this domain, couldn’t tell their stories as he had told so many others, and a part of him that only grew greater as time went by was frustrated by this above all else, wanting to know (to Know) what befell them even if someone else knowing of the victims’ particular torments would entirely defeat the point.

There was also the fact that the place was just... dreary. It wasn’t horrifying or gory, like so many of the other domains had been, but the steady rain and ever-present fog, the way colors faded into monochrome in the distance, the wide open spaces... it was all rather depressing, really. Not a huge surprise, given the connection to the Lonely, but it did lead to the whole area seeming awfully somber, a strange weight seeming to hang over Jon’s head as he did his best to make his way through.

But mostly it was because Martin wasn’t by Jon’s side. Martin had only disappeared from Jon’s view once before, in a domain of the Lonely that Jon did _not_ like thinking about, and though Jon knew logically that this wasn’t the same, he still kept thinking of how Martin had gone through so much there, how so much of who he was had been stripped away from him before he had managed to shake it off and escape.

This was different, though. This was _Martin’s_ domain. Jon felt like this should be a comfort of sorts, but it really wasn’t. Perhaps his fear that Martin would become just another victim was alleviated, sure, but in its place came twin fears: the fear that Martin either was still struggling to cope with the fact that he had his own domain, that he was as much avatar as human now, without Jon by his side to help him talk through things... or the fear of the exact opposite, that Martin was getting used to how things were now after all, that he might very well accept his place in this new world and leave Jon to go on alone.

So when Jon saw a figure in the distance, a figure that he couldn’t see that clearly through the fog but certainly looked to resemble Martin in shape and size, Jon didn’t hesitate.

“Martin?”

“Jon!” came the reply, excited and enthusiastic and clearly in Martin’s voice.

Jon picked up his pace, running as fast as he could (which wasn’t very, honestly, even with his cane to help carry the burden and make up for the dull ache of his bad leg), and Martin came running towards Jon at a similar speed.

They met in the middle (had the fog receded a bit, the rain lightened into a drizzle, or was that just Jon’s imagination?) and Jon slowed to a halt as he approached, taking his time to appreciate the opportunity to look upon Martin again, to take in the sight and presence of the one he loved most. It was him, it was really _him_ -

And Martin wasn’t slowing down, at least not the same way Jon did. Before Jon knew it, he was being picked up bodily by Martin, grabbed and pulled into a fierce embrace with Martin lifting him up such that Jon’s feet no longer brushed against the soft, marshy ground.

Jon thought briefly about making a comment about how easy he obviously was for Martin to pick up, but as Jon considered whether now was really the right time for a wisecrack Martin bent him over, dipping him in- in a ridiculous position, really, like something out of a romance novel, but then, Martin always was the romantic, whether hopeless or hopeful...

Then their lips made contact, and suddenly Jon couldn’t think about much else.

They’d kissed before, of course, but something about this kiss was different. There was an energy to it, an energy to _Martin_ , that was made clear through physicality in a way words could never do justice to. There was neither the struggle nor the resignation that Jon had feared, just a forthright strength in the way Martin didn’t hesitate before their mouths connected, tongues embracing tongues just as their arms were still embracing one another as well.

(Jon tried to ignore how Martin’s tongue tasted faintly of rain.)

There was no way of telling how long the kiss lasted, of course, no watches to keep track or natural ways to tell time in a place so unnatural, but it was long enough that Jon felt himself going a bit lightheaded before realizing that he hadn’t been breathing, that unless he was going to break up the kiss (which he very much did not want to do) he would simply have to breathe through his nose instead.

(Martin didn’t smell like much of anything Jon could name, not the floral-scented shampoo of Upton House or the lingering odor of the hospital, but he smelled like _Martin_ , and that was what was most important.)

Another moment that might have lasted a few seconds or several minutes passed before their lips finally separated and Martin set Jon upright again, placing him gently back on the ground. (Jon considered voicing a few comments related to this as well, but swallowed the words instead; this moment was precious, he could feel that much, and he didn’t want to risk sullying it.)

“It’s really good to see you.” Martin said in a voice that sounded about as out of breath as Jon felt. “We were starting to worry that something had happened to you.”

Jon opened his mouth initially with the intention of sharing similar thoughts, of saying how wonderful it was to see Martin again, especially since he seemed to be in good spirits, but before he could settle on a fitting platitude his brain caught up with something more important that Martin had just said and fixed on that instead.

“Wait. ‘We’?”

Martin wordlessly pointed behind him, where...

Where _Martin_ was running towards the two of them.

The two Martins looked identical--they had the same clothing, the same hairstyle, the same freckles in all the same spots, and both were sopping wet from the still-falling rain and solid enough to leave soft imprints in the gray grass beneath them as they stepped on it.

The Martin that was further behind looked at Jon with a strange expression on his face... and the Martin next to Jon, the Martin that he had _just kissed_ , wobbled and wavered before dissolving into nothing but more fog.

Jon walked closer to the remaining Martin, but before making any rash moves... well, he had to be _sure_. “Who are you?”

“Martin Blackwood, your boyfriend... and ruler of this domain.” Martin’s voice sounded slightly clipped, slightly flat, without the energy he’d felt from the other Martin before.

Jon gestured to where the other Martin had been only moments before. “And that was...?”

“Also Martin.” The way Martin said it made the term seem as much moniker as description, like Not-Sasha, a being that could only be named by its relationship to someone else. “But more... open, I suppose?”

"I... I thought that was you.” Jon couldn’t meet Martin’s gaze, looking instead at a patch of gray grass that was nigh-indistinguishable from any other patch of gray grass. “I thought I was kissing _you_.”

“He _is_ me, sort of. It’s complicated. Don’t...” Martin shook his head. “Don’t worry about it."

“If you say so.” Jon’s voice sounded about as convinced as he was, which was not very. Jon still couldn’t bring himself to make eye contact with Martin again.

“Look, I was suspicious of him too at first, but he _is_ me. He just... gave me someone to talk my thoughts out with. Talking to yourself is underrated, really.” Martin laughed a bit at his own joke, and though the laughter seemed hollow, Jon was still heartened to hear the sound.

“I suppose you would know better than I would.” Jon said, a hint of a sigh in his voice as he added, turning his eyes back towards Martin’s own as he spoke, “I can’t get much of a read on this place myself.”

“That’s kind of the point.”

“I know, I know.”

“Of course you _know_.”

This time, Jon joined Martin in softly laughing at Martin’s wordplay.

“So if that’s you, just more open... you really were getting worried about me, then?”

Martin nodded, and Jon noticed for the first time that the water gathering around his eyes didn’t look to be just the rain.

“And you really wanted to...” Jon gestured vaguely to indicate the rest of what Also Martin had done.

Martin blushed, the pink hue gathering on his face a striking difference from their monochrome surroundings. “I mean... sort of? It, it was probably a bit much-”

Jon shook his head. “I mean, if that’s what you want, I’m not _opposed_...”

“Honestly, I’m afraid I might break your back if I try that stunt again.”

“’That stunt’ meaning the, the-”

“Dipping?”

“Right.”

“But as for the rest of it... well, I’m game for a second shot at it if you are.”

(This time, Jon noted, Martin’s tongue tasted strongly of oolong.)

**Author's Note:**

> If you liked this, consider following me on tumblr at [haberdashing](https://haberdashing.tumblr.com/)!


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